Musharraf Delays Return To Pakistan

Former president and All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) chief Pervez Musharraf has delayed his homecoming, Express News reported on Thursday.

The decision comes after he consulted party members on his return plans. Earlier it had been announced that Musharraf will arrive in Pakistan between January 27 to 30, 2012.

According to Express News, he delayed his return on the suggestion of his “friends”, who said that coming back to Pakistan right now might not be favourable for the former president.

Mohammad Amjad, senior vice president in Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League, told AFP that “no final decision had yet been taken” but said the retired general would make an announcement on his plans “later, perhaps today”.

“His friends and party officials want him to postpone it for sometime. This was discussed yesterday at a meeting and conveyed to him,” Amjad said.

Reports of his arrest on arrival on account of cases registered against him have also surfaced lately.Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured the Senate on Wednesday that Musharraf would be arrested on his return to Pakistan.

“I assure this house that if he lands in Pakistan, he will be arrested because he is a proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto murder case,” the minister had said.

The interior minister’s assurance came a day after Senator Raza Rabbani submitted a 10-point charge sheet in Senate, calling for the former dictator’s arrest.